GHAC ready to handle Covid vaccines

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), a 100 per cent subsidiary of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), on Tuesday said that it is ready to handle export and import of Covid-19 vaccines. Hyderabad is likely to emerge as a major port once the key manufacturers succeed with the ongoing human trials.

It has a major role cut out in the entire value chain of vaccine shipments to provide the necessary infrastructure for unbroken cool-chain for the global vaccine shipments to maintain the vaccine integrity.

Experts say that Hyderabad, the pharma hub and vaccine capital of India, will be an integral part of the Covid-19 solution by virtue of its robust manufacturing technology and capacity to manufacture millions of doses as per the best in class industry practices.

The Covid-19 vaccines require specialised handling, hence the procedures are being developed in coordination with manufacturers and supply-chain players to mitigate any risk during the process of transportation of vaccines right from the manufacturers' facility to the final destination.

GHAC says it has well-established standard operating procedures (SOP) in place for acceptance, screening and handling of vaccines as per required temperature conditions. The pharma zone of the terminal is a WHO-GSDP (World Health Organization - Good Storage and Distribution Practices) certified facility. It provides end-to-end unbroken cool-chain for pharmaceutical and vaccine shipments. Plans are in place also to increase the storage capacity for various vaccine types and related accessories and supplies.